Tuesday, March 26
Newark, Del.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
9-13
11
at
12
Delaware
6-17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Lehigh
0
0
1
1
2
0
0
7
0
11
10
4
Delaware
1
0
0
1
0
8
1
1
X
12
12
2
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Lehigh fights to the finish, but can't overcome Delaware in Liberty Bell Classic
3/26/2019 8:34:00 PM | Baseball
NEWARK, Del. — It was quite the see-saw battle for supremacy on Tuesday afternoon, but Lehigh baseball was unable to prevail, falling to Delaware, 12-11 in the first round of the Liberty Bell Classic at Bob Hannah Stadium.
After the Blue Hens got on the board first by way of a passed ball, the Mountain Hawks soared ahead in third inning after junior Tony Gallo singled through the left side, scoring Jake Kochmansky.
In the fourth inning, senior Jeff Shanfeldt found a pitch to hit and drove a ball just inside the left field foul pole for his first home run of the season, a solo shot to put Lehigh on top, 2-1. The home run also ensured Shanfeldt extended his on-base streak to 18 straight games.
After the Blue Hens tied the game back up in the fourth inning, the Mountain Hawks got right back to work in the fifth inning after Shanfeldt doubled to right center, scoring Mike Maguire and Tyler Schreiner had an RBI single that scored Ryan Malloy to put Lehigh up 4=2.
The Mountain Hawk pitching staff and defense however, fell victim to the dreaded 'big inning,' as Delaware scored eight runs on eight hits with two errors in the bottom of the sixth inning, to go down 10-4. The two errors made it four in the game for Lehigh, as defensive miscues have been a bit of an issue for the team as of late.
"I think we had another game where we just had poor execution for about five innings," said head coach Sean Leary. "We talk a lot about free bases at every chance we get and today earlier in the game we gave up more than we would normally give up in a doubleheader. It puts pitch counts at a higher level, it makes us go to the bullpen earlier.
"Our guys competed through those moments, but eventually they're going to break through and right now teams have been breaking through and we haven't been able to stop the big inning and that's probably the number one thing we need to address going forward right now."
It didn't take long for Lehigh to get back on track and back in the game after a battle for most of the afternoon, as the bats took over in the top of the eighth inning. Kochmansky walked with the bases loaded to score Schreiner and cut the deficit to 11-5. Quinn McKenna also walked with the bases loaded, scoring Matt Hand. Freshman Chase Carlson pulled through with the biggest hit of his college career so far, singling in Tim DiLoreto through the left side to make it a four-run game.
Shanfeldt, who was on a tear already heading into the at-bat, delivered once again with a three-RBI double down the left field line, bringing in Carlson, McKenna and Kochmansky to make it an 11-10 game. And with Hand back up at the plate after being up in the same inning, completed the comeback for the time being, singling through the left side and scoring Shanfeldt to tie the game up at 11.
That was all she wrote, however, as Delaware took the lead on an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to hold on and take the win, 12-11 and advanced to the second round of the Liberty Bell Classic winner's bracket to take on Rider.
The Mountain Hawks showed once again that they were able to fight back from major deficits and make games competitive once again, something that is often very difficult to do.
"Despite having a rough week, we don't give up, we fight to the last out and we're competitive even on the defense and pitching side," Leary said. "We don't give in, we just aren't executing at a high level.
"I was proud of the guys on offense because there was a number of guys that got into the game who might have made their first appearance in a really close game and I thought they showed really well. It also showed our team that we have that focus to get that game tied."
Jeff Shanfeldt was a big part of the team's offensive success as his 18-game reached base streak has already proven. He went 3-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, two runs scored and five RBIs.
"Jeff has played very well in the last 10 days and we're going to need that moving forward," said Leary. "It's wonderful to see seniors have success because they put so much into the program and he's really had a special couple of weeks."
Tyler Schreiner went 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI. Matt Hand went 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and two walks, including the clutch hit in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 11.
On the mound, left-hander Cameron Van Hoorebeke got the start and pitched well, despite allowing two runs and walking four. He was pulled after 3 2/3 innings of work and 80 pitches, but only allowed two hits and struck out seven batters. Yash Rane (0-1) picked up his first loss of the 2019 campaign, throwing 1 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on one hit.
With the loss, Lehigh will now face La Salle next Tuesday at J. David Walker Field in the consolation round of the Liberty Bell Classic. The Mountain Hawks are now 9-13 on the season, having lost five of their last six games.
The Mountain Hawks return home to J. David Walker Field on Wednesday to face Saint Peter's for a 3 p.m. game. Lehigh no-hit the Peacocks last year, the last time they came to Bethlehem.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
After the Blue Hens got on the board first by way of a passed ball, the Mountain Hawks soared ahead in third inning after junior Tony Gallo singled through the left side, scoring Jake Kochmansky.
In the fourth inning, senior Jeff Shanfeldt found a pitch to hit and drove a ball just inside the left field foul pole for his first home run of the season, a solo shot to put Lehigh on top, 2-1. The home run also ensured Shanfeldt extended his on-base streak to 18 straight games.
After the Blue Hens tied the game back up in the fourth inning, the Mountain Hawks got right back to work in the fifth inning after Shanfeldt doubled to right center, scoring Mike Maguire and Tyler Schreiner had an RBI single that scored Ryan Malloy to put Lehigh up 4=2.
The Mountain Hawk pitching staff and defense however, fell victim to the dreaded 'big inning,' as Delaware scored eight runs on eight hits with two errors in the bottom of the sixth inning, to go down 10-4. The two errors made it four in the game for Lehigh, as defensive miscues have been a bit of an issue for the team as of late.
"I think we had another game where we just had poor execution for about five innings," said head coach Sean Leary. "We talk a lot about free bases at every chance we get and today earlier in the game we gave up more than we would normally give up in a doubleheader. It puts pitch counts at a higher level, it makes us go to the bullpen earlier.
"Our guys competed through those moments, but eventually they're going to break through and right now teams have been breaking through and we haven't been able to stop the big inning and that's probably the number one thing we need to address going forward right now."
It didn't take long for Lehigh to get back on track and back in the game after a battle for most of the afternoon, as the bats took over in the top of the eighth inning. Kochmansky walked with the bases loaded to score Schreiner and cut the deficit to 11-5. Quinn McKenna also walked with the bases loaded, scoring Matt Hand. Freshman Chase Carlson pulled through with the biggest hit of his college career so far, singling in Tim DiLoreto through the left side to make it a four-run game.
Shanfeldt, who was on a tear already heading into the at-bat, delivered once again with a three-RBI double down the left field line, bringing in Carlson, McKenna and Kochmansky to make it an 11-10 game. And with Hand back up at the plate after being up in the same inning, completed the comeback for the time being, singling through the left side and scoring Shanfeldt to tie the game up at 11.
That was all she wrote, however, as Delaware took the lead on an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to hold on and take the win, 12-11 and advanced to the second round of the Liberty Bell Classic winner's bracket to take on Rider.
The Mountain Hawks showed once again that they were able to fight back from major deficits and make games competitive once again, something that is often very difficult to do.
"Despite having a rough week, we don't give up, we fight to the last out and we're competitive even on the defense and pitching side," Leary said. "We don't give in, we just aren't executing at a high level.
"I was proud of the guys on offense because there was a number of guys that got into the game who might have made their first appearance in a really close game and I thought they showed really well. It also showed our team that we have that focus to get that game tied."
Jeff Shanfeldt was a big part of the team's offensive success as his 18-game reached base streak has already proven. He went 3-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, two runs scored and five RBIs.
"Jeff has played very well in the last 10 days and we're going to need that moving forward," said Leary. "It's wonderful to see seniors have success because they put so much into the program and he's really had a special couple of weeks."
Tyler Schreiner went 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI. Matt Hand went 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and two walks, including the clutch hit in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 11.
On the mound, left-hander Cameron Van Hoorebeke got the start and pitched well, despite allowing two runs and walking four. He was pulled after 3 2/3 innings of work and 80 pitches, but only allowed two hits and struck out seven batters. Yash Rane (0-1) picked up his first loss of the 2019 campaign, throwing 1 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on one hit.
With the loss, Lehigh will now face La Salle next Tuesday at J. David Walker Field in the consolation round of the Liberty Bell Classic. The Mountain Hawks are now 9-13 on the season, having lost five of their last six games.
The Mountain Hawks return home to J. David Walker Field on Wednesday to face Saint Peter's for a 3 p.m. game. Lehigh no-hit the Peacocks last year, the last time they came to Bethlehem.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Silverstein, Ari (1-0)
L: Rane, Yash (0-1)
Batting:
2B: McKenna, Quinn 1 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 2
HR: Shanfeldt, Jeff 1
RBI: McKenna, Quinn 1 ; Gallo, Tony 1 ; Carlson, Chase 1 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 5 ; Schreiner, Tyler 1 ; Hand, Matt 1 ; Kochmansky, Jake 1
SH: Sweeney, Gerard 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Maguire, Mike 1 ; McKenna, Quinn 1 ; Carlson, Chase 1 ; Malloy, Ryan 1 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 2 ; Schreiner, Tyler 1 ; Hand, Matt 1 ; DiLoreto, Tim 1 ; Kochmansky, Jake 2
SB: Schreiner, Tyler 1
HBP: Kochmansky, Jake 2
Batting:
2B: Colmery, Austin 1 ; Carpenter, Joseph 1 ; Lesher, Zach 1
3B: Vaccone, Vinny 1
RBI: Colmery, Austin 1 ; Hutchins, Jordan 2 ; Carpenter, Joseph 3 ; Goan, Jack 1 ; Miller, Zack 2 ; Lesher, Zach 1 ; Kaden, Brad 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Colmery, Austin 2 ; Bowren, Erik 1 ; Hutchins, Jordan 2 ; Carpenter, Joseph 1 ; Vaccone, Vinny 2 ; Goan, Jack 1 ; Lesher, Zach 2 ; Kaden, Brad 1
SB: Colmery, Austin 2 ; Hutchins, Jordan 1 ; Lesher, Zach 1
HBP: Bowren, Erik 1 ; Vaccone, Vinny 1 ; Goan, Jack 1
Game Leaders
dh/c
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
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C
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1B
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OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
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OF
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